Study of Soil Quality Using Satellite Images in the Region Terrestre Prioritataria 105, Cuetzalan, Puebla, México.

The remote sensing is the ability to capture in an instant a synoptic view of a large part of the Earth’s surface and to acquire repeated measurements of the same area on a regular basis, this advantage can be used in soil science, especially the inherent and dynamic land surface characteristics that can be translate in soil quality indicators. The main objective of this research is to use the satellite images to elucidate the inherent or dynamic soil quality, understanding the importance of land use/land cover, here the rates and patterns of land use change, particularly from forest to agriculture. Study site is locates at Region Terrestre Prioritaria 105: Cuetzalan, is an important rain forest reserve, and Andosol is dominant soil. In a homogenous study area, satellite images Lansat- 5 sensor TM (Thematic Mapper), y Lansat 7 ETM+ from different period of time 2005 and 2010 where compared, the methodology also includes observations in situ, and soil laboratory analysis, the information was analyzed using SIG and geostatic programs. Also, predictions of vegetation amount with ground vegetation using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was tested. The results suggest that remote sensing in an integral part of land cover mapping and monitoring, on the other hand those illustrate that the relationship between NDVI and ecosystem processes is weak; the NDVI data were associated with degraded landscapes. However remain many obstacles for using satellite observations to predict ground conditions and land cover change, especially for the scale on soil quality indicators studies.